Making the most of Evidence Week

Monday 3rd to Friday 7th July 2023 saw the return of Evidence Week, an annual event organised by Sense about Science that gives researchers the opportunity to present their work directly to MPs, Lords and other parliamentarians right at the heart of British democracy.

Chris Sims, Deputy Director and Head of Policy Impact in the Institute, explains more.

This year, the University of Nottingham was co-sponsor of the event, giving the Institute team an opportunity to spend a day in parliament with Professor John Gathergood, helping introduce our political leaders to the Track the Economy tool developed by academics from our Schools of Economics and Geography.

Evidence Week is an unusual event in the policy impact calendar, in that very few occasions offer university academics the chance to engage with so many parliamentarians in a single day. In many ways, though, the secret to a successful Evidence Week can be seen as encompassing much of the principles of successful policy impact work in general. With that in mind, here are my top ten tips for anyone from the world of research who is thinking of joining in the fun next year.

1. Know your selling point. We made a great deal in our pre-event communications of the fact that the Track the Economy tool could offer data at a granular, local level – perfect for constituency MPs, especially with the next General Election looming in people’s minds. In terms of making our research relevant for MPs this was a bit of a no-brainer, but starting from the question of what your target audience’s priorities are and how you can make your work relevant to them is always a good plan.
2. Manage your comms. Identify early who your key targets are and encourage them to come along. We found that the most effective approach was a combination of directly emailing MPs (through their parliamentary email, which is easily found with a web search) and tagging them in tweets that invite them by name to book a briefing. And follow up afterwards – ideally with a clear call to action for your policy audiences.
3. Read up on your appointments. If you’ve done number 2 well, you should have a good list of people who have booked time with you in advance. You’ll be much better placed to speak to them if you know a bit about them beforehand and have thought a bit about what is likely to pique their interest. An easy starting place is finding out what relevant committees and APPGs they sit on, and any cabinet/shadow cabinet positions they hold that link to your discipline.
4. Arrive early. Getting through parliamentary security and getting set up takes more time than you think. We were there for a quarter to eight – possibly a little too early, but it meant we had a relaxing start and were able to present a calm and professional front when the deluge started.
5. Have a team. Don’t forget that whoever is your lead academic (including if that’s you!) will need some break time – briefing parliamentarians is tiring work. And you’ll want to make sure there is always someone around keeping their eyes open for new opportunities to engage while briefings are going on. We had a team of three, but the ideal number is probably four – two people who are able to speak to the research and two to provide support and manage the flow of people.

6. To quote Gypsy, you gotta have a gimmick. It may sound crude, but MPs spend a lot of time listening to people talk. They’re only human – if you can offer something that’s a bit different from their norm you’ll have a better chance of getting their attention. We had a table with our data tool, which they could have go with. The pod next to us featured another Nottingham academic, Matthew Piasecki, who offered his visitors the chance to test their grip strength as the start of a conversation about his work on muscle resilience. It doesn’t need to be complicated, but a bit of imagination will pay off.

7. Go with the flow. We had plenty of people book 10 minute briefing slots with John in advance, but in practice very few people actually ended up having conversations when they were scheduled to. This was where having a team around John to support him was important – working with our Sense about Science colleagues, we were able to monitor who was coming in and out of the room and when we might need to seize the moment to grab someone’s attention. Which brings me to…

8. Don’t be afraid to interrupt. Both academics and politicians can get deep into conversation and it can be hard to divert them, but parliamentarians won’t wait around for long. If someone arrives unscheduled and needs to be introduced, do it. It might feel like you’re being rude, but all parties are likely to appreciate the need to maximise the reach of the research.

9. Look beyond MPs and Peers. We had some really interesting engagement with parliamentary staff, staff from the Parliamentary libraries and research teams, and MPs’ staffers. They might not sound as glamorous as talking to an MP, but they have a great deal of influence and could play a really important part in your future policy impact – so give them the attention they deserve!

10. Enjoy the day! Evidence Week is a chance to spend a day in a completely different environment to academia, with a group of people who may be many things but are certainly not boring. You may find yourself faced with new perspectives on your work, or questions that you perhaps haven’t thought about in quite the same way. You’ll also, most likely, find a good deal of reassurance that your work is important, that it matters outside academia, and that it can really make a different to people’s lives.

Best of luck to you all with all your policy impact work and who knows – perhaps we’ll meet in the Houses of Parliament in 2024. Not that either of us are likely to have much time to say hello.